NOVEMBER 2023

MADAME FIGARO — RICK OWENS, FEATHERS, AND POISE— NOVEMBER 2023 — BY ISABELLE GIRARD

FOR HIS SECOND COLLABORATION WITH MONCLER, THE DESIGNER OPPOSES THE WEAPON OF GENTLENESS TO THE FURY OF THE WORLD

THE UNCLASSIFIABLE AMERICAN DESIGNER RICK OWENS AND THE ITALIAN BRAND MONCLER GO WELL TOGETHER. WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON? THEY SCULPT THEIR MATERIALS -HERE USING DOWN AND NYLON – AND HAVE THE SAME CONCEPTION OF CLOTHING, WHICH MUST BE EFFECTIVE AGAINST THE ATTACKS OF THE WORLD BUT ALSO ELEGANT AND ECO-RESPONSIBLE. MONCLER HAS MADE ITS DOWN JACKETS BOTH ICONIC AND LUXURIOUS. RICK OWENS, THE FASHION PHILOSOPHER, WORKS THROUGH HIS CREATIONS TO FIND THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN STRICTLY FUNCTIONAL AND RIGOROUS SPECTACULAR. TO CREATE THIS SYMBIOSIS BETWEEN THE AVANT-GARDE DESIGNER AND THE MONCLER HOUSE, IT WAS NECESSARY TO GO BACK TO THE FUNDAMENTALS: USING DOWN AS THE MAIN ELEMENT OF THE COLLECTION. THE RESULT OF THIS COLLABORATION, AVAILABLE STARTING NOVEMBER 30TH, IS AN EXPLOSION MADE UP OF EXUBERANT AND FEATHER-LIGHT PIECES, TUNICS WITH XXL SLEEVES, QUILTED BOLERO JACKETS ENHANCED BY NON-COLORS, MATTE BLACK, GRAYS, AND DUST. “TO ME, MONCLER REPRESENTS INSULATION, PROTECTION, AND AT THE SAME TIME MOMENTUM,” SAYS RICK OWENS, “AND I FOUND MYSELF IN HARMONY WITH THESE ASPECTS.”

MADAME FIGARO: “DOES THIS SECOND COLLABORATION WITH MONCLER ALLOW YOU TO EXPLORE NEW TECHNIQUES?

RICK OWENS: OF COURSE. IT STIMULATES THE IMAGINATION AND ALLOWS RISK-TAKING IN CREATING NEW MATERIALS, DESIGNS, AND COMMUNICATION TOOLS TO RAISE AWARENESS AMONG OTHER FASHION COMMUNITIES. FOR EXAMPLE, LAST FEBRUARY, IN LONDON, AS A PART OF MONCLER'S “THE ART OF GENIUS” EVENT, I SHOWCASED AN AESTHETIC BUBBLE, A SORT OF SOUNDPROOF CAPSULE DESIGNED FOR ANYONE. MY COLLECTION OFFERS A WARDROBE FOR LIVING IN THIS BUBBLE AS WELL AS OUTSIDE OF IT.

WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU CREATED THIS COLLECTION?

IN A MOMENT OF SWEETNESS IN A WORLD OF TEARS AND VIOLENCE

WHAT MATTERS TO YOU, THE COMFORT OF CLOTHES AND THEIR AESTHETICS OR THE MANUFACTURING ETHICS?

I LIKE COMFORT, OF COURSE, BUT THIS REQUIRES US TO BE AWARE OF OUR RESPONSIBILITIES. KEEPING IN MIND THAT WE HAVE A DUTY OF RESPECT TO OUR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS AND THE PLANET AND A COMMITMENT TO DIGNITY.

YOUR LATEST PERSONAL COLLECTION SEEMED MORE RADICAL. ARE YOU A PESSIMIST?

REALISTIC. I SEE CLEARLY WHAT THE HUMAN CONDITION IS, FULL OF SOUND AND FURY. SOME DESIGNERS OFFER ESCAPES FROM REALITY. I LIKE THE REAL, THE HARD, AND THE BLOODY.

WHY DID YOU BECOME A FASHION DESIGNER?

TO OFFER OTHER CHOICES TO THOSE WHO DO NOT RECOGNIZE THEMSELVES IN THE CODES PROPOSED TODAY, WHICH ARE RIGID, NARROW, AND SOMETIMES CRUEL. I RESPECT THE PRINCIPLES THAT DEFINE “CLASSIC BEAUTY,” BUT I TRY TO MAKE THEM FLEXIBLE. YOU MIGHT THINK THAT MY WORK IS ALIENATING… OTHERS, ON THE CONTRARY, WILL FIND IT LIBERATING.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF FASHION?

FASHION IS COMMUNICATION. IT’S A WAY OF SHOWING OTHERS WHAT WE ARE. AND TO OTHERS WHO WE ARE. I EXPRESS MYSELF THROUGH MY COLLECTIONS AND RECEIVE MANY MORE SIGNALS OF SUPPORT FROM OTHER WORLDS. SO, I IMAGINE I’M ON THE RIGHT PATH.